Sunderland 0-1 Swansea City: Instant reaction from the press box

Sunderland Echo

Phil Smith and James Copley react to Sunderland's defeat to Swansea City

Transcript

00:00Hello, welcome to the stadium like Phil and James here.

00:02Sunderland have just lost 1-0 to Swansea City.

00:07What to say, Phil, really? It was a pretty poor game, wasn't it?

00:10I think we can just end it there.

00:11Yeah, I think Swansea probably just about deserved it would be my overriding feeling,

00:15certainly in the sense that in the first 20 minutes they were not like the Swansea of old, really.

00:19They were quite direct, but I mean that in a purposeful way.

00:21They've created quite a lot of chances. They've pressed Sunderland really well.

00:23Sunderland were dead sloppy, but they were really lucky not to go behind in the first 20 minutes, Sunderland.

00:28And after that, there wasn't a lot in the game and Swansea didn't create much.

00:32But I mean, Sunderland, I can barely think of a clear good chance, really.

00:35It was, you know, Swansea defended well, they made good blocks, they sort of, they defended their box really well.

00:40But it's a bit of a concern now, really, that Sunderland are just struggling to carve out chances.

00:44And we've rightly praised the fact that since the Coventry game, the international break, defensively, they've been fairly solid.

00:49And that was the case by and large today.

00:51Yeah.

00:51But they're not really creating much.

00:53There was a real lack of attack to spark the build-up players, not convincing.

00:56And, you know, there's time to fix it, but it has to be a little bit of a worry at this point, isn't it?

01:00No, I think you're right.

01:01And I think that Sunderland feel like a team that are going through the motions, obviously.

01:04Yeah, definitely.

01:04The playoff place is guaranteed, but you want to come into those playoffs on some momentum, don't you?

01:10You can't really be having too many more performances like this, I would suggest.

01:14I think we understand that the Bruises maybe try to rotate the squad, try to get a few more players up to speed.

01:19But it's really not clicking at the moment.

01:21I think, as you say, particularly going forward, that is a fair few games now where it hasn't really stuck.

01:27And it is a general concern of mine coming into the playoffs that even when Sunderland have been pretty good going forward,

01:32they haven't tended to put teams to the sword that often.

01:35And that does concern me, actually.

01:37But I think we're creating fewer chances than we were even before the year.

01:41And that is a worry when you say that we haven't been massively clinical all season.

01:45So when you're then not actually creating that many chances, you start worrying a little bit where the goals are going to come from.

01:49I thought that there was a huge difference when Le Fay and Meander came on the pitch.

01:54I think right now, obviously, Le Fay we have to be super careful with, and you can understand that.

01:58You can't just play 90 minutes every week and risk another hamstring injury.

02:01But if we're picking a team for the playoffs right now, I don't think there's any doubt that Le Fay and Meander are in it.

02:05But I think Meander looks, in my opinion right now, like some of the best options up front.

02:09I thought, although there weren't loads and loads of chances and neither of them scored or got an assist or anything like that,

02:15I thought that we looked far much more convinced.

02:17And the tempo came up when they came on the pitch.

02:19And that is a worry for me.

02:20Not that they're playing well, but it's a worry that we need them on the pitch.

02:23Is it nine games without a goal for Isidon now?

02:25I think it might be eight, but it's eight or nine for sure.

02:27It just looks to me like, it's Le Brice's favourite word, isn't it?

02:30That sort of connection, connectivity with the team.

02:32And for me, it doesn't look that in tune with what's going on around him at the moment.

02:37Which is unfortunate, because I think when he's on, he's absolutely brilliant.

02:40And there was a moment actually just in the corner where he won the ball back and really looked to attack Swansie.

02:44And he got pulled back for a foul.

02:46But for me, he's just not offering enough at the moment.

02:49Is he tired? Is it a different confidence? Is it both? Is he frustrated?

02:54I don't know what it is, but he doesn't look like the same player when he first came to the team.

02:57And at the moment, I think Leander's got a bit more of a spark about him.

03:00And he tends to make things happen, as you said, all season, really.

03:02And he tends to make things happen.

03:04So I think that's a big thing going forward.

03:06Job's a miss, obviously. I'm not putting it all down to that.

03:08We still haven't won this season without him.

03:10But I think his energy and his athleticism in the field and his quality driving with the ball is definitely absent.

03:16Dan Neill needs a rest.

03:17So I think there's some stuff that I think will naturally get better.

03:20I think when Neill's had a bit of a break, when Job's back, when the fear's got more minutes.

03:23But definitely we have to be a little bit concerned about the lack of chances of the ball.

03:28Could you argue that Mebby's were being too analytical and too harsh and this dip was probably always going to come,

03:34with Sunderland not able to get the automatics yet having secured their playoff promotion spot?

03:42Was this always likely to happen? Is it human nature?

03:45Yes, we would like a little bit more, but they're sort of in a weird spot and we should just accept that.

03:49I think that was naturally always going to happen, but I think on home turf, I think it's a worry that you aren't creating many chances.

03:56I think that's fair. I think there's always going to be a little bit of a dip.

03:59We do have to put it into context, and say that some of them have had a weird situation at the moment,

04:03but I expect them to be creating an awful lot more.

04:06Shall we end with that?

04:07I think so.

04:07I've got really much more to say. Good luck recording on the whistle.

04:10Yeah, yeah. Please give me some questions. Help me out here.

04:13Thank you, Sundernec World website for all things Sunderland, and thanks for watching.

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